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Researchers Make Progress Toward Early Identification Of Muscular Dystrophy
The saying "Knowing is half the battle" is never more true than when discussing early treatment of disease. Muscular dystrophy is one such disease where patients can benefit from early treatment. Now, new research is moving doctors and scientists closer to disease diagnosis in advance of patient symptoms.
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Vaginal Ring Could Protect Against HIV, Researcher Says
A researcher with Weill Cornell Medical College has developed a vaginal ring that releases microbicides and could prevent HIV and unplanned pregnancies, ANI/Times of India reports. Brij Saxena -- a professor of reproductive biology and endocrinology and lead author of a recent study on the ring in the journal AIDS -- said that laboratory testing showed the device would be effective at preventing HIV infection and pregnancy by releasing several types of nonhormonal agents and microbicides. He added that if proven successful in clinical trials, the device would allow women to effectively protect themselves from HIV and avoid pregnancy. According to Saxena, the ring releases antiretroviral drugs over a period of 28 days. He noted that the device potentially could serve as an alternative method to prevent other sexually transmitted infections. Jeffrey Laurence, co-author of the study and a physician at New York Presbyterian Hospital-Weill Cornell Medical Center, said, "No one has ever conquered a viral epidemic with treatment, so prevention is the most effective option." He added, "Ideally, an HIV vaccine is the most desirable method, but that is not foreseeable in the near future. The next best thing would be something that would prevent infection and put the power in the susceptible female partner"s control. That"s the potential a device such as this can offer" (ANI/Times of India, 5/20).
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Australian Study Finds Risky Driving Puts P-Platers At High Danger Of Crash
Australia"s largest study of young drivers has shown that risky driving habits are putting young drivers at a significantly increased risk of crashing, irrespective of their perceptions about road safety. The study surveyed 20,000 young drivers and examined their crashes reported to police. Young drivers involved in the study who said they undertook risky driving were 50% more likely to crash.
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ECRI Institute Calls For Allocating Comparative Effectiveness Funds For A National Patient Library

In testimony before the Listening Panel of the Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research (FCCC) on June 10, 2009, ECRI Institute President and Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey C. Lerner, Ph.D., called for devoting a substantial proportion of the $1.1 billion allocated to the comparative effectiveness research to go toward establishing a National Patient Library™. ECRI Institute® (http://www.ecri.org) is an independent nonprofit organization that researches the best approaches to improving patient care. "The ability of patients and their caregivers to compare treatments and not just rely on others to tell them what to do is a powerful way to harness market forces in the service of better care. It allows the public to take statistical information and decide how that information applies to them as individuals," states Lerner. "A national library, rather than a piecemeal collection of studies and initiatives, would create a concrete legacy for the new movement to compare how well pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and clinical procedures work." The National Patient Library would benefit patients by giving them easy-to-understand information about the comparative effectiveness research produced under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and from other public and private s. The Library would gather information designed for patients that meets an evidence standard so that patients, their families, and their professional caregivers can make decisions based on the best available scientific information. The Library would also further the way information is developed and presented by bringing to bear knowledge and techniques from behavioral economics, cognitive science, communications, as well as other social sciences. In testifying before the FCCC panel, Dr. Lerner highlighted ECRI Institute"s experience in producing evidence-based patient information beginning in the 1990s when the Institute used it to help breast cancer patients understand that high-dose chemotherapy administered with autologous bone marrow transplant was more likely to harm or kill them than to prolong their lives for a greater period of time than would standard chemotherapy. In 1996, ECRI Institute published a free guide to help patients and their families make an informed decision about whether to undergo this therapy, even though the odds were against it being helpful. In his testimony, Dr. Lerner provided the FCC listening panel with current examples of how evidence-based information has and can continue to be developed to become an important national re and a change agent in the healthcare system. The 15-member FCCC council was created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and assists the agencies of the federal government, including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Departments of Veteran Affairs and Defense, as well as others, to coordinate comparative effectiveness and related health services research . The Recovery Act appropriated $300 million for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, $400 million for the National Institutes of Health, and $400 million for allocation at the discretion of the Secretary of Health and Human Services to support comparative effectiveness research. Council members include Anne Haddix, Thomas Valuck, Peter Delany, Carolyn Clancy, Deborah Parham Hopson, David Hunt, James Scanlon, Elizabeth Nabel, Garth Graham, Jesse Goodman, Michael Marge, Neera Tanden, Joel Kupersmith, Michael Kilpatrick, and Ezekiel Emanuel. Dr. Lerner"s National Patient Library testimony is available for free download (registration required) at http://https://www.ecri.org/Forms/Pages/FCCC_Testimony_National_Patient_Library.aspx. Additional information about ECRI Institute"s vision for a National Patient Library can be found at http://https://www.ecri.org/Patients/Pages/default.aspx. ECRI Institute has also created a Comparative Effectiveness Re Center to help stakeholders understand the issues involved in comparative effectiveness research. The educational site includes a range of res, from national policy conference recordings to perspectives from leading experts, plus links to position statements and related articles. ECRI Institute


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